Tuesday, April 18, 2017

#AtoZChallenge 2017 O for Orange

I have a basic doubt about this citrus fruit.

Which came first - the fruit or the color? Have you wondered that?
Whether the orange fruit is called so because it is colored orange
or the color orange is called so because its the color of the fruit?

Another interesting take is that - An orange usually has 11 segments. (Most of the ones I have had in India atleast) . In tamil , the words Aaru and Anju stand for 5 and 6 respectively. So5+6 = 11 = Aaru+Anju = Aaranju = Orange

In India, at least in the South, an orange is something you simply peel and then eat the segments. Its closest cousin the sweet lemon (Mosambi )would be all over the place as well and would mainly be used when you decide to perform the social obligation of visiting the distant relative whom some virus had earlier visited.

Only after moving to South East Asia did I discover that these oranges are called mandarin oranges. They are an important auspicious symbol during Chinese New Year and are very commonly given as gifts.Apparently the Chinese word for orange sounds similar to the one for wealth and that is the reason for the celebrity status the fruit enjoys during that time. I discovered the other orange type , I mean the one I was alien to in the super markets here - the ones used for juice extraction mainly.

I don't like orange juice much. At least the commercially available ones that claim to bring the freshness straight from the orchards to our breakfast tables. They don't taste like oranges.Do they? Heck, they are not even orange in color usually! They are a weird yellow!

If I were to ask you name one thing that is orange in color?( Oranges not allowed :D). What props up in your mind immediately? The color of the evening sky on a beach when the sun is about to set is what I can think of.

7 comments:

Ive never counted the segments - now I will! I grew up in orange country (well the kind you eat.) The kind you juice are much sweeter and I agree I dont like them when they are in a container all the vitamins are gone!!!Hmmm orange - the dirt from Uganda that clings to the bottom of my shoes and makes me smile.A Piece of Uganda

When I was a young girl, my grandparents started spending winter in Florida. When we would visit them, we would always come back with bags of oranges. It was an out of season treat for us. WeekendsInMaine